Chris Franjola at Hilarities 4/7/17
First things first...Hilarities is a great comedy venue. If you have never been, it's a very cool room. The sound is great and the staff is very friendly.
Friday night it was packed for headliner Chris Franjola and featured comic Bill Squire. Our host was Juanda Mayfield.
As you read this, keep in mind there are two more performances tonight.
We highly recommend this show.
Juanda kicked it off right on time and went straight towards the white boys. If you haven't ever seen Juanda, she is as playful and fun as it gets. She likes white guys. And not just economically. She also likes food. A lot. Her sleeping experience is a mix of scuba- diver and astronaut. If you sit up front at her show, be prepared, she is a professional flirt. And Juanda is a great host. I would call her a "hostess" but...nevermind, you should go check out Juanda and she'll explain that to you in a very funny way.
We got to catch a full set of Bill Squire and it was funny throughout. On a night when the headliner was legitimately hilarious and had a very accomplished resume, Bill looked right at home. The audience laughs were frequent, if not constant.
The man sitting in front of us wiped tears away at one point.
Fidelity and diets came together disturbingly in an early joke. Bill doesn't concern himself with women's intentions. He is too busy working on his dirty talk and staying on the same page as his date. When at a supposed loss for transitions, Bill simply uses that as transitional fodder to get where he is wanting to go. Smoothly. He made an impromptu and hilarious comparison of himself that we won't give away. But it was really good.
Bill hosts a lot of open mics and other local shows. And those are all great. We are regulars at a lot of them. But do yourself a favor and catch a full set sometime. You will appreciate the accessibility of Mr. Squire all the more. The fact that you can see this guy do short sets around town for free is crazy. And his dangly earring is here for a limited time only! Also he has a t-shirt you can buy. They are pretty sweet. We apologize for the extra-blurry pic here but we had to sneak them quickly as they don't allow photos or video to be taken during shows.
Chris Franjola is not a household name. Why not? Damned if we know. The guy is really funny.
That sounds so generic to say but Chris is funny. You get the feeling he can make anything funny without preparation. Yet, at the end of his show, you know you have seen something that was not awesome just by chance. Check the credentials. Chelsea Handler this and Chelsea Handler that. Family Guy.
He's on a new Netflix show called "Glow". I could go on but he has already out-achieved most of us right there. He is definitely better than frozen yogurt. And he knows it.
He opened with some current events, including why Donald Trump doesn't travel by bus and why racial purity can be disastrous. After that he went into a story of human reunion turned dental tragedy. The priorities of some people confuse him. The entire crowd was on board and laughing hard right from the beginning.
How not to get murdered in Cleveland doesn't come naturally to Chris and he is not afraid to admit it. When it comes to Cleveland, he's just a little afraid in general. And with comically-good reasons! But he also gives the impression that he likes it here. Except for a certain store and a few other minor aesthetics. After hearing him, that makes perfect sense too. He's a professional traveler who knows which tools can and can't be brought on a plane.
Chris is not old, but he has some solid insights regarding the differences in toys, technology and sex now compared to the previous generation.
He acknowledges that not all epidemics are equal, or even bad.
That sounds weird but it made perfect sense when he said it.
Far from a physical comic, he did hit the floor more than once. He's not high-energy but he's definitely never boring. Like we said, he's just really, really funny. He touched on political subjects, but only from original angles and never overdoing it. Even though he is not a criminal, he has had some interesting interactions with the Cleveland Police. He'll probably get in your dirty car as long as you clear a spot for him.
As if he wasn't already loved by the audience, he gave away two tickets to see Chris Rock to some people he had teased a little during his set. What more can a guy do?!?
If you go to this show tonight, you will not regret it. There will be fun!!!